Benicio's new Che look drawing attention

NEW YORK, Sept. 20 (UPI) -- Hollywood actor Benicio del Toro said the scruffy look and dark beard he adopted to play Che Guevara in "The Argentine" attracted the wrong kind of attention.

"It makes airports tougher," he said in the October issue of Esquire. "There's a different line for the dangerous-looking characters. Girls don't check you out as much and guys look down. But it's funny, the looks I get from street people. Suddenly, I'm their brother."

Asked if he is nervous about playing the iconic Marxist revolutionary and what the role will mean for his career, del Toro told Esquire: "Am I nervous? Yeah. ...

"Whenever I think about it, I bite my knuckles. I pull my hair out. I can't walk, man. My back hurts."

Noting how difficult historical epics can be to make, del Toro said, "It's been like carrying a big heavy piano up the Empire State Building. I've thought a lot about the day I'll get to drop it off."